


August 15th

by Aquaphoric



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: 5 minutes aftet vday isn't so bad i guess, Also Tsumugi is here but she's never mentioned by name, But pretend this was posted yesterday, Character Death, I was going to post this on vday but oh well, Kagerou Days AU, M/M, Multiple times, Nothing like seeing the love of your life die a bunch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 22:05:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13690749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aquaphoric/pseuds/Aquaphoric
Summary: August 15th at 12:30 noonI don't see a cloud aboveThe sun is shining downWhat a pretty day...





	August 15th

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!! This is my first drv3 fic, and I'm excited!! I hope you enjoy reading, I put a lot of love into writing this!

_August 15th, 12:28PM._

The day is bright and hot, sky blue with only a few clouds. On days like these, Kokichi would love to get some ice cream, or go somewhere to cool off, but right now he just wants to hang in the park on the swingset with his friend, Shuichi; Shuichi had picked the spot to hang out, and Kokichi couldn’t find it himself to deny it, though he did lie about wanting to not go at first.

For some reason, Shuichi decided to bring along a cat. ‘It’s a stray I found, it just jumped into my arms,’ he had claimed. The cat seemed calm in Shuichi’s arms, so it was probably okay.

“Y’know, Saihara-chan,” Kokichi says, going back and forth on his swing he’s sitting on, “I used to come to this park _all_ the time when I was a kid, so I have a lot of good memories here!”

Shuichi chuckles. “Is that so? I’m glad I picked here to hang out, then.” He smiles, and Kokichi smiles back. Shuichi absentmindedly pets the cat. “In hindsight, though,” Shuichi says, standing up from the swing with the cat in his arms, “I probably should’ve picked somewhere with more shade, the heat is killing me.” He sighs, and Kokichi thinks that under that breath he can hear _'I hate the summertime’_. Then he asks, “Would that be okay with you, Ouma-kun?” 

Kokichi jumps up from the swing, his usual grin on his face now, “ _Well_ , maybe if you didn’t wear that emo outfit all the time, you probably wouldn’t be so hot!” Kokichi lets out his signature laugh, “Nishishi, but if Saihara-chan wants to go somewhere cooler, then fine, that’s okay with me.”

Shuichi opens his mouth to reply when the cat suddenly jumps out of his arms, running for the street. “Wh- hey, get back here, you might get run over!” He says, running after the cat.

Kokichi could predict a lot of things.

He could’ve predicted that Shuichi would look both ways before crossing the street like anyone with common sense would. He could’ve predicted that the truck coming probably too fast would slow down or stop upon seeing Shuichi, or the red light. He could’ve predicted that somehow Shuichi would cross the street before the truck came and successfully catch the cat.

What he doesn’t predict is the sound of a vehicle hitting a body, the sickening crunch of bones, and a scream cut short.

Kokichi doesn’t move. He _can’t_ move. He thinks he might hear people yelling trying to call for an ambulance, but he can’t. The only thing audible is his own heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears. In front of him is a body lying dead on the street.

In front of him is the body of Shuichi Saihara, broken in a pool of his own blood.

At the thought of blood, the metallic smell of blood hits his nose, and Kokichi has to cover his mouth to keep from vomiting. He can’t breathe, he’s practically choking on the air around him. This can’t be happening, this has to be some sick, twisted lie, Shuichi can’t be dead. He just can’t. 

It’s really hot outside.

A chuckle sounds from a bit away, and he turns his head to see a plain looking girl, with big blue eyes and an equally big, devilish smile plastered on her face. Her voice is unfittingly sweet as she says, _‘This is only the beginning, Kokichi Ouma. What you see here, before you right now, you’re going to get the exact same thing, sooner or later. But for now, you will suffer.’_

Everything fades to black, and Kokichi Ouma falls asleep to the sound of crying crickets.

_August 15th, 12:30PM._

__

_August 14th, 12:04PM._

Kokichi awakes with a start, eyes thrown wide open. His head is ringing, at the same time filled with sounds of ticking clocks. It’s an annoying sound.

His mind is flooded with the events of yesterday -- tomorrow? --, of a swingset, of a cat, of a truck, of a boy lying in the middle of the street dead. He opens his phone to check what time it is, but the date says _12:04PM_ with _Tue, August 14_ just below. He can’t wrap his mind around it at first, but soon figures that he must’ve had a nightmare, that’s all it was. Just a nightmare, and he’s sure that isn’t a lie.

His phone buzzes with a new message from a contact titled _Saihara-chan_ ♡. Kokichi opens it up to read, _‘Hey Ouma-kun, are you up yet? I came by your room earlier but you didn’t respond. I’m excited to hang out today, I don’t usually have a day with no cases :)’_

Kokichi grins at the smiley Shuichi leaves at the end of his message. _‘Saihara-chan is so cute,’_ he thinks, and types out a response. He gives his hair a quick brush through, throws on his white uniform, deciding to leave behind his checkered scarf -- it’s too hot for it anyway -- and departs for the park.

_12:22PM._

Kokichi hums to himself, going back and forth on the swing he sits on, listening to Shuichi talk about something funny that had apparently happened and having the occasional laugh, all the while Shuichi stroking the cat sitting in his lap. But, he can’t stop thinking about the nightmare from last night. It felt so real, like it was reality, but there’s no way silly nightmares could become reality, right?

“Ouma-kun?” Shuichi’s voice snaps Kokichi out of his thinking. “Are you okay? You looked like you were spacing out.”

Kokichi laughs, “Nishishi, I’m just fine, Saihara-chan! Really!” In actuality Kokichi is, in fact, not fine. He’s still shaken up about the dream of Shuichi dying, but he wasn’t going to admit that.

Shuichi looks at him with those innocent eyes, clearly concerned for his friend. He puts an equally innocent smile on his face, "If anything’s bothering you, I would like to help you, any way I can.” 

Shuichi’s always willing to help anybody, no matter what. That was something Kokichi loved, how much of a kind soul Shuichi was (of course, Shuichi didn’t let people walk all over him like a doormat because of his kindness; another thing Kokichi loved.)

“Well, if you really wanna know,” Kokichi says, “I had a dream last night, but it wasn’t anything special; we were just sitting at this park like we are right now.” He doesn’t mention that Shuichi had ran into the street and got killed by a truck, but he feels like Shuichi doesn’t need to know that.

He hears Shuichi say _‘hm, must be deja vu then’_ under his breath, when the cat jumps from his lap and runs towards the street (like in the nightmare). Shuichi jumps up from the swing, beginning to run for the cat, “You’re going to get run over!”

An extremely similar image of Shuichi running for that cat flashes in Kokichi’s mind when he says ‘run over’, followed by an image of Shuichi lying in the street in a pool of his own blood. Before he knows it, Kokichi has his hand grasping Shuichi’s wrist to stop him as a truck passes by. Fortunately, they can both see the cat on the other side of the street, alive and well.

Shuichi turns back to look at Kokichi, “What was that for?” Kokichi can’t find an answer before Shuichi practically answers for him, “Well, I do suppose if you hadn’t stopped me I could’ve gotten hit by that truck that just passed by…”

Heart pounding at that statement, Kokichi releases his grip on Shuichi’s wrist to put his hands behind his head, “Come on, Saihara-chan, let's go somewhere to cool off. Who cares about some dumb cat anyway?” He says with a grin on his face. Shuichi smiles back as he nods in agreement, and the two walk away from the park. Kokichi reaches his hand to Shuichi’s as if asking permission to hold it, and he gladly takes it. Kokichi turns away to hide the slight blush on his face.

They walk among the near-crowded yet peaceful streets, passing a building still in construction, when a fearful scream interrupts the peace. Kokichi looks up to see a machine holding steel beams precariously wobbling. The guy controlling the machine tries to control the machination to keep them from falling, but moves too fast, giving the beams that one push they need to start falling.

People are screaming, running away, but something keeps Kokichi glued to his spot. Maybe he’s thinking that maybe he’s far enough away from the beams not to get hurt. Or maybe it’s a ‘deer in the headlights’ kind of fear that keeps him standing in place. The kind of fear that gets you killed. He continues to watch the beams fall when he’s pushed back, roughly, and the warmth of Shuichi’s hand leaves his.

Kokichi barely has time to register what’s going on when he lands on the hot concrete and is met with a sight just as sickening as Shuichi dead in the road.

The beams fall, crashing loudly, making Kokichi’s ears ring alongside the pounding of his heart, but he could care less about the noise when Shuichi Saihara is impaled on one of the beams. He’s barely breathing, but he’s still moving, weakly scratching at the ground for a reason only some divine entity would know. He knows there’s no way someone could survive getting impaled with something as thick and large as that. Now he’s hoping that this is all just some kind of dream, please. Out of the corner of his eye he can see the cat staring at the scene.

The old wind chimes set up in the trees chime their delicate, gentle song. It’s entirely unfitting for the situation.

 _‘Aw, looks like you failed again. Too bad.’_ There’s that girl again, her voice now is anything but sweet. _‘I bet you’re wishing this is a dream, right? Well, hate to say it, but this isn’t fiction, it’s reality. Now, it’s time for you to reset. Sweet dreams, Kokichi Ouma.’_

Once again, Kokichi falls asleep, and the last thing he sees is the dark smile on Shuichi’s face.

_August 14th, 12:30PM._

__

_August 15th, 12:02PM._

Again, Kokichi wakes up, eyes wide open. Again, his head is filled with clocks that are going tick tick tick and a ringing in his ears. Again, while his heart pounds his mind is flooded with yesterday, of a swingset, of a cat, of steel beams, of a boy impaled and dying.

Again Kokichi tries to convince himself that it was a nightmare, a lie, because out of everyone he tells the best lies to himself, but his pounding heart won’t calm down. His stomach starts to tighten, almost feeling nauseated, but he forces it down even if all he wants to do right now is throw up last night’s dinner. He shuts his eyes and tries to get his thoughts in order, facing the hard truth in the process.

 _‘So it...really isn’t a lie...it isn’t a nightmare, and Saihara-chan really did die those last two times,’_ he thinks, the thought of Shuichi being dead nearly makes him sick again, but he swallows and continues thinking. 

_‘But if he did, then why am I back here?’_ Kokichi racks his brain hard for an answer, until his phone buzzes. The time reads _12:04PM_ again, and again he receives a text message from a contact called _Saihara-chan_ ♡. It says the exact same thing as last time, and before he even registers the whole text again, he feels like his entire being is punched with a realization that Shuichi is in danger.

Kokichi knows his panic is uncharacteristic of him, but he doesn’t care, he doesn’t want to see Shuichi’s dead body again. He hastily pulls on his uniform, probably looking like a mess as he decided to not to brush his hair this time, and books it as fast as he can to the park.

_12:20PM._

Kokichi curses his body for being unathletic as it is, because it takes him fifteen minutes or so to get to Shuichi due to the breaks he needed for a breather. _‘I should really participate in gym class more,’_ he thinks, _‘or maybe I should ask one of those buff kids from one of those other classes to train me after I save Saihara-chan.’_ Still, even though his lungs feels like they’ll explode, even though he feels himself getting stitches in his sides, even though his thighs burn something fierce, he wills himself to run.

When he gets to the park, Shuichi is petting on that damn stray cat again when he notices Kokichi. He barely even gets to say “Hello” when Kokichi grabs his wrist and pulls him off the swing set, throwing the cat off his lap and being pulled along by the smaller boy. Kokichi knows that Shuichi theoretically could pull his hand away and angrily demand what’s going on, but instead he attempts to keep up with Kokichi’s pace, though unfortunately he’s just as unathletic, so whenever he falters Kokichi tightens his grip and forces the other to keep running.

On his way to the park Kokichi decided that he would take Shuichi to a nearby apartment building that had a lot of flight of stairs on the outside. Kokichi hopes somewhere high up without any immediate dangers will prove effective for keeping Shuichi safe. It takes at least five minutes to get there, then another few to climb up some of the stairs, finally stopping on a floor when Kokichi feels satisfied.

 _‘I am literally going to die,’_ Kokichi thinks as he sinks to his knees with his back to Shuichi and sucks in deep breaths, coughing a couple times in the process. He can hear Shuichi trying to say something, but he’s just as out of breath as he is, similarly taking in deep breaths.

Finally, Shuichi asks, inhaling in between his words, “O-Ouma-kun...wha-what’s going...on?”

“It’s t-too difficult to...explain, Saihara-chan, if I did….you would probably think I’m lying or just...just going crazy....” Kokichi answers. He tries to stand though his legs ache like hell when he sees the girl again, leaning against the railing of the floor with a smile on her face. 

“Why? Please, Ouma-kun, just tell m-” Kokichi whips his heads around, and suddenly everything feels slow-motion as he sees Shuichi’s legs backing up over the edge of the staircase. He turns his body around, reaching out his hand for Shuichi who is instinctively reaching back. He’s hoping, praying to every god he can think of -- including Angie’s own god -- that he’ll be able to grab Shuichi and save him.

Kokichi’s fingers barely grazes Shuichi’s.

Kokichi shuts his eyes tight as everything appears to return to normal speed, even tighter when he hears a noise at the bottom of the stairs that churns his stomach. He forces them open though, and immediately regrets it when he feels like vomiting up the nothing in his stomach.

At the bottom, Shuichi’s body is splayed out, giving the appearance of someone who’s sleeping soundly. If only his neck weren’t turned at such an odd angle, blood seeping out of his mouth, and eyes opened wide like he had a last second realization of _'I am going to die.’_

The girl this time doesn’t say anything about how he’s failed again, or how this is reality; all she says is _‘Good night, Kokichi Ouma. Better luck next time, I guess.’_

For a third time, Kokichi succumbs to the blackness that overtakes him and falls. He almost wishes he had been conscious long enough to feel his own neck breaking.

_August 15th, 12:30PM._

__

_175,296 times._

_If Kokichi does his math correctly, he’s experienced Shuichi dying 175,296 times so far. He could get into the mathematics of that again and how he’s reached that answer but he doesn’t feel like it. Seeing the person you love die so many times is bound to make you feel numb to everything at some point._

_10 years._

_Kokichi assumes he’s been doing the same thing for at least 10 years by now. He could honestly care less, all that matters is if he can save Shuichi. He’s 100% sure that if he can make it from 12PM to 12:30PM and past that, then he’ll be free from this cursed loop and then the both of them can live life normally again, and hopefully Kokichi can wake up to another day without feeling so damn empty inside. It’s weird knowing years have gone by and yet nothing changes._

_A lot of the early deaths are fuzzy, or just completely gone at best, though he’ll never completely forget that first loop and seeing Shuichi being hit by that truck. After the first three times, Kokichi tried a lot of different things to try and save Shuichi from his fate, but they all ended with him dying anyway._

_Once, Kokichi thought it had been a good idea to go through a shady part of the neighborhood; they ended up getting assaulted by a group of thugs and one of them stabbed Shuichi in the heart, killing him. A few times, Kokichi stayed in bed the whole time that the day lasted and would receive a text from a mystery number -- most likely the mysterious girl -- that Shuichi died, along with the details of how it happened. Those texts would instantly disappear though, so Kokichi’s memory of most of the details they enlisted isn’t that good._

_Sometimes, when Shuichi dies, Kokichi cries for at least a few minutes when he wakes up from the darkness again, and the tears are not the crocodile tears he can do on command. He doesn’t know why it happens, it just does. Rarely has he felt such misery that he cries genuinely, this is just so very, very tiring._

_In the 175,296th loop, the most recent one, he had cried in front of Shuichi. Kokichi had woken up, and unlike most of the loops,replied to Shuichi’s text that always appeared at 12:04PM, but not with a fake cheery response. Simply, he replied ‘saihara-chan, could you come over to my dorm room, actually? i dont feel like going out today, and thats not a lie’ and put down the phone. It took Shuichi eleven minutes to come, and when he did, all Kokichi requested was that he lay next to him. Shuichi blushed slightly at that request (Kokichi smiled -- how long had it been since he smiled?) but did as he was asked. 15 minutes left._

_Shuichi looked like he wanted to say something with the way he opened his mouth at times, but stayed quiet. Kokichi liked the silence, honestly. He had Shuichi with him, so he liked it. But it couldn’t last too long._

_With 10 minutes left, he had spoken up. “Hey, Saihara-chan?”_

_Shuichi jumped a little at the sudden break in the quiet, but replied with, “Yeah, Ouma-kun?”_

_“What I’m about to say, it might sound crazy, or just one big lie, basically not true, but I want you to believe me when I do tell you. It’s okay if you don’t though, this story sounds fictional anyway.”_

_So, Kokichi explained how he’s experienced this day more than once, how he’s seen Shuichi die 175,295 times so far with this being the 175,296th loop, how he always dies at 12:30PM, about the mysterious girl he sees each time Shuichi dies. The only thing he omitted is him describing how Shuichi died in the loops he remembered._

_Before Shuichi could respond, Kokichi suddenly propped himself over the other’s body, looking down at him. “Before you tell me that I’m lying, or even insane, let me tell you: this is absolutely hell for me. Imagine seeing your friend die and die again and you can’t save them, no matter what. You try, and you try, and you try so damn hard, but in the end it’s futile! Imagine waking up knowing your friend will die and y-you can’t do a fucking thing about it! But you still attempt to save them because…”_

_Kokichi hadn’t even realized he had started crying at some point, but his tears had dripped silently on Shuichi’s cheeks. Then, he was fully aware of his sight being blurry, his lip trembling and the tight ball in his throat that nearly made the next thing he said not come out._

_“...Because I love you, Saihara-chan. I love you so much, there are days where I want to give up, but the thought of someday saving you is what keeps me going. I would die for you, Saihara-chan, and that’s...that’s the truth.”_

_Squeezing his eyes tight, he shed more tears and buried his head into Shuichi’s chest. His quiet, contained sobs had been so close to becoming full on wails, but they were still strong enough to wrack his body. There was no response to what he said, but he felt Shuichi’s arm wrap around him in a comforting embrace. For a few minutes, everything had been peaceful._

_Then the moment was ruined Kokichi saw the girl beside the door and people had broken into the dorms, maybe with the intent to rob the rooms, entered the private moment and shot the both of the boys. Neither of them had time to register what was happening before gunshots had rang out._

__

_August 15th, 12PM._

Kokichi opens his eyes slowly, remembering the last thirty minutes that just happened. He really professed his love to Shuichi, didn’t he? Well, it wasn’t like Shuichi would remember. He remembers every word said yesterday, while at the same time wondering if it would be worth it to get out of bed and try to save the boy he loves again.

The two thought processes continue until he gets the text from Shuichi again, and they merge together as one line from yesterday: _I would die for you, Saihara-chan, and that’s the truth._

_12:28PM._

Once again, he’s back at the park, swinging on the swingset, while Shuichi talks and pets the stray cat in his lap.

“Y’know, Saihara-chan,” Kokichi says, knowingly repeating what he said in the first loop, “I used to come to this park _all_ the time when I was a kid, so I have a lot of good memories here.”

Shuichi chuckles. “Is that so? I’m glad I picked here to hang out, then.” He smiles, and Kokichi smiles back. The only good thing about these loops is getting to see Shuichi smile. “In hindsight, though,” Shuichi says, standing up from the swing with the cat in his arms, “I probably should’ve picked somewhere with more shade, the heat is killing me.” He sighs, and Kokichi knows this time that under that breath he can hear _‘I hate the summertime’_. It marks the beginning of what’s about to happen. Then he asks, “Would that be okay with you, Ouma-kun?” 

Kokichi stands up from the swing, his usual grin replacing the smile on his face, “Okay, sure, if it’s what Saihara-chan wants.” 

Shuichi opens his mouth to reply when the cat suddenly jumps out of his arms, running for the street. “Wh- hey, get back here, you might get run over!” He says, running after the cat.

This time, Kokichi is sure to make things different.

He runs after the other, yelling, “Don’t worry, I’ll get that cat!” They reach the edge of the sidewalk, and Kokichi can clearly see the truck that’s hurtling towards them. He always thought that they would both get out of this loop alive, but maybe that’s not the answer. He gets ahead of Shuichi, placing his hands on the other’s chest and pushing as hard as he can as he stumbles into the pathway of the truck. He flashes him a smile, thinking, _‘Goodbye, Saihara-chan.’_

Once again, he hears the sound of a vehicle hitting a body and the sickening crunch of bones, but this time it’s his own.

He’s vaguely aware of lying in a pool of blood, his hair partly obscuring his vision and blood trickling down his face. He can see Shuichi a few feet away, looking absolutely horrified at the scene before him. He looks like he’s about to cry; a little ways away he can see the girl, staring at the scene as well. Maybe she didn’t expect Kokichi to sacrifice himself, but then again, he assumed not a lot of people would expect that from a person like him. 

As the darkness of death consumes him, he smiles, hoping that Shuichi can continue living and that this loop is finally over.

_August 15th, 12:30PM._

__

_August 14th._

_“You failed to save him again,” the girl says._

_“I know,” the boy replies._

_“You had been doing so well, you kept getting yourself killed, but he refused to accept your death, so he repeated this loop. Why didn’t you accept it? This suffering for the both of you could’ve ended right then.”_

_“Because he deserves to live too.”_

_The girl is quiet. Then, “You know, this loop is spurred on by your fear of him dying, and his fear of you dying.”_

_The boy doesn’t reply._

_“...But, if he does manage to get out of this, he can possibly bring you back.”_

_The boy perks up. “Really?”_

_“Yes, even though it’d take a while, but he can._

_“Can...can I tell him this? So this loop can stop?”_

_“...Yes.”_

On August 14th, Shuichi Saihara wakes up with tears in his eyes, having seen Kokichi Ouma die for the first time in 10 years. But now, he has a newfound determination, the mysterious girl who has been watching them telling him that he can be saved if Kokichi stops the loop. 

For the past 10 years, he did the same thing hoping things would change, but this time, as he puts on his clothes, he walks out of his room with a fire in his heart and confidence in his eyes. This time, he promises, is the last time he will die, and afterwards, if what the girl said is true, neither he or Kokichi will have to suffer again.

He thinks about that loop before that last one, as he steps out the door, and thinks, _‘I love you too, Ouma-kun.’_


End file.
